Osi Umenyiora

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NFL Week #15: This week’s Five Best Bets

Posted by fantasyfurnace on December 14, 2012
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 6 Comments

Just three weeks to go in the NFL regualr season. Teams on the bubble need wins this week while those that are out of contention for a playoff berth just play for pride. We went with all favorites last week and paid the price by going 2-3 bringing our season total to 44-26. We’re going with two ‘Dogs this week and are looking to improve! Here are this week’s Five Best Bets-Good luck!

*Home team in CAPS

Giants over the FALCONS-atlanta-falcons-vs-new-york-giants

Our first underdog this week are the 8-5 Giants going up vs the 11-2 Falcons. There are actually more reasons to pick Atlanta than New York such as: the Falcons have won their last 10 straight home games, they are the least penalized team in the NFL, they rank eighth in offense, they give up 19.9 points per game on defense and Matt Ryan is 32-4 as a starting QB at the Georgia Dome. So why are we going with the Giants? They are the better team beating the 49ers 26-3 & the Packers 38-10 but more importantly they need this game much more than Atlanta does. If they lose they could miss the playoffs…

From left to right Osi Umenyiora, JPP, and Justin Tuck will need to pressure Matt Ryan to prevent the ball from sailing downfield on Sunday. Photo: nydailynews.com

From left to right Osi Umenyiora, JPP, and Justin Tuck will need to pressure Matt Ryan to prevent the ball from sailing downfield on Sunday. Photo: nydailynews.com

Packers over the BEARS- The Bears are riddled with injuries; so much so that the team failed to have a practice on Wednesday! They started the season  coasting at 7-1, winning many of those games on turnovers. They have gone 1-4 over their last five while the Pack is starting to ‘come on’. In their first meeting, the Bears only managed 168 yards of total offense at Lambeau Field and now given all their injuries, should not do much better.

Vikings over the RAMS- Minnesota, our second underdog this week, travels southeast to St. Louis and brings superstud Adrian Peterson with them. He needs 505 rushing yards over these next three games in order to match Eric Dickerson’s NFL record-setting 2105 rushing yards. Just over 150 yards per game and he’ll own that prestigious record. QB Christian Ponder needs to be able to throw the rock successfully so that AP and the Vikes will have a well balanced attack and a better chance at the upset.

#28 Star Vikings RB Adrian Perterson will be looking to add to his 1600 rushing yards vs the Rams. Photo: twincities.com

#28 Star Vikings RB Adrian Peterson will be looking to add to his 1600 rushing yards vs the Rams. Photo: twincities.com

Seahawks over the BILLS- Seattle goes cross-country this weekend and even without the warm and noisy confines of CenturyLink Field, their defense could just be enough to help them dismantle the Bills. QB Russell Wilson has been on a tear and Ground Player of the Week, Marshawn Lynch, who ironically enough was drafted by these same Buffalo Bills in the 2007 draft, is one of the top five elite RB’s in the league. We don’t expect a high scoring affair but a Seahawks win nontheless.

TEXANS over the Colts- After an embarassing Monday Night loss 42-14 at the hands of the New England Patriots, the Texans should bounce right back just like they did after getting trounced on by Green Bay earlier in the season when they came back the following week to manhandle the Ravens by 30, 43-13. Colts QB Andrew Luck has had little of it on the road this season amassing 8 touchdowns while tossing 13 INT’s. Facing the league’s seventh ranked defense will not make it any easier for the 1st round pick. Texans by double-digits!

had his problems on the road this year completing only 54.5% of his passes. Photo: nfl.si.com

#12 Andrew Luck has had his problems on the road this year completing only 54.5% of his passes. Photo: nfl.si.com

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NFL WEEK #2-This Week’s Five Best Bets

Posted by fantasyfurnace on September 14, 2012
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 8 Comments

We finished the first week of the season going a respectable 4-1. Our only loss coming in the Bucs 16-10 win over the disappointing Carolina Panthers. No one figured on QB Cam Newton’s total of 10 rushing yards for the game and that Tampa’s defense  would prove too much for the visiting Panthers. Here are our picks for week #2:

*Home team in CAPS:

Ravens over the EAGLES: If coach Andy Reid needs to finish the season at better than 8-8 in order to return next year, then he’s going to be off to an inauspicious 0-2 start if we’re right. Watching veterans Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and company on defense even without Terrell Suggs, is a lot for any team to handle. QB Joe Flacco looked more like Joe Montana passing for 299 yards,( no INTs) and 2 touchdowns. The 44-13 rout made the Ravens only the fifth team in NFL history to score 40 or more points in a season opener. The Eagles just barely beat the lowly Browns 17-16 in a game that saw Michael Vick throw 4 picks. They’ll need more than 17 points to defeat Baltimore this Sunday.

Even without LB Terrell Suggs, the Ravens defense is still one of the best in the league & will be after Michael Vick all day. Photo: Baltimoreravens.com

CHARGERS over the Titans: San Diego, who usually starts the season off very slowly out of the gate, might be finally bucking that trend . In 2011 they won 4 out of their first 5 and we think they’ll go 2-0 after this week’s contest vs the Titans. RB Chris Johnson had a poor showing  vs the Patriots last week rushing 11 times for a net of only 4 yards! He said before the season began that we would see the 2010 version of C.J. but it didn’t look like it in week 1. QB Jake Locker who injured his shoulder on opening day practiced this week and said he felt no pain. Besides the Chargers, history goes against Tennessee as the Bolts have beaten the Titans/Oilers franchise six straight times by 17 or more points. Do you believe in history?

GIANTS over Buccaneers: The Dallas Cowboys simply outplayed the G-Men in East Rutherford in their first meeting of the season. The Giants will not be outplayed by Tampa Bay in their building this week. The defensive tandem of Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, and JPP didn’t record a sack or knockdown of QB Tony Romo and we don’t think that will happen on Sunday vs QB Josh Freeman. Nor do we think that WR Victor Cruz drops three passes again this week. They will need to run the ball successfully against a very stout Tampa defense and the 10 days that the Giants had to prepare for this one should help to do that. Big Blue will ruin coach Greg Schiano’s return to N.J. with a convincing win but will have only four days rest before they face the Panthers on Thursday night.

The big three on ‘D’: JPP, Osi Umenyiora, and Justin Tuck will not go another week without a sack or two vs QB Josh Freeman. Photo: corner.bigblueinteractive.com

Redskins over the RAMS: Although the ‘Skins gave up a ton of points to the Saints last week, they still managed to do some great things on defense like picking off stud QB Drew Brees twice and sacking him a couple of times as well. But the most impressive part of the Redskins game  was the play of the two rookies; QB Robert Griffin (320 yards and 2 touchdowns-10 rushes -42 yards) and RB Albert Morris (96 rushing yards and 2 TDs). The Rams defense will not be able to keep them both in check and we expect another two amazing performances by the first year duo. The Rams could only manage 251 total net yards and 14 first downs vs the Lions in week one and they’ll need more than that to topple Washington who put up 40 points vs the Saints a week ago.

COLTS over the Vikings: Indianapolis, our second underdog pick this week, features rookie QB Andrew Luck in his home opener. In his debut last week against the Bears at Chicago, Luck made some rookie mistakes (3 interceptions-2 fumbles) but that wasn’t too shocking considering he was going up vs one of the premier defenses in the NFL. However it wasn’t all bad for the Colts. They had 11 less minutes in time of possession and still were able to amass almost as many 1st downs as the Bears  (22 vs 26) so they did move the ball. Luck threw for 309 yards and a TD and RB Donald Brown out of UCONN had a rushing TD and averaged 5.3 yards per carry. The Vikings just pulled out an OT win over the Jaguars at home last week which is no great feat because if you can barely win at home you’ll probably lose on the road.

We think that #12 QB Andrew Luck’s homecoming will result in his first win in the Pros vs the Vikings. Photo: wibc.com

The Giants will WIN!! if……

Posted by fantasyfurnace on January 6, 2012
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Although no pushover, the Falcons CAN be Beaten…

N.Y. Giants will play host to the Atlanta Falcons this Sunday. Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images

1. Home field ‘dis-advantage?’

 The good news is that the Giants are in the playoffs. The bad news is that they’re playing at home. We all know about their ‘Perfect Post-Season’ in 2007 when they won every playoff game on the road (including, of course, the Super Bowl). However, they got knocked out of the post season, AT HOME, in 2005 and 2008. So the first thing the G-Men have to do is win a playoff game at home.

2. “Run Forest, Run…”

It’s not a secret that the Giants finished the regular season dead last in rushing yards per game at 89.2. What you might not realize is that they have stepped it up a notch, averaging a more competitive 105.5 ypg in their last four games. They will need to continue that trend in this contest otherwise Eli will be seeing nothing but 3rd and longs all day. No easy task either as the Falcons are sixth in the league at stopping the run.

3. Get to Ryan! (ehhh no… not Rex!!)

The Giants front four; Unmenyiora, Pierre-Paul, Tuck, and Canty need to pressure Matt Ryan who has not been the easiest quarterback to sack in the league. (13 times in his last 13 games). He throws quick passes, usually from inside the pocket, to a plethora of talented recievers that include Roddy White, rookie stud Julio Jones, (touted by the Furnace prior to the regular season), and 13 year veteran TE Tony Gonzalez.

Pierre Paul has been a beast with his 16.5 sacks on the year earning him a trip to the Pro-Bowl. Umenyiora, out for a total of seven weeks with assorted injuries, has 9 sacks in 9 games. The Giants have one of the most formidable pass rushing defenses in the post season this year and need to continue building on the 11 sacks (5 on Sanchez-6 on Romo) they’ve collected over their last two games.

4. Boley on Gonzo-

Everyone knows the kind of year that WR Roddy White has had given that he holds the league record for receptions at 100, but very quietly, in his 13th season, TE Tony Gonzalez has amassed 80receptions (and 7 TD’s) and continues to be a key offensive threat with his 8-12 yard pickups through dinks and dunks from Ryan. Michael Boley, the ex-Falcon, will have the unenviable task of keeping his catches to a minimum and needs to do so effectively to keep Ryan from over-using the veteran weapon.

5. Stopping the ‘Turner Express’…

Although the Giants have not been the most adept team at stopping the run in the league, when it’s counted- they have. They showed what they can do against Shonn Greene and last week vs Felix Jones, although combined they don’t posess Turner’s talent. They will have to TRY and turn in the same performance against Michael Turner and his 11 touchdowns in the regular season. Cannot over-emphasize the importance of slowing him down. He won’t be stopped but he also cannot have his way this Sunday.

6. Those darn intangibles…

The obvious and most important intangible is the ‘home crowd’; a crowd with the same kind of enthusiam and passion as the one last week vs Dallas; a game by the way that was the most watched in Sunday Night Football’s history. The fans need to be the ’12th man’ in this game which will hopefully impede Ryan’s ability to audible sucessfully as well as increase the liklihood of false start penalties.

The Falcons have not won a Playoff game since 2004. Matt Ryan is 0-2 and has three touchdowns and four interceptions on his post season resume, a decidedly huge edge for Eli Manning.

The Giants are coming into this game on a roll, having won three of their last four games;  big wins when they counted. Clearly, a key to the win would be to keep turnovers and penalties out of the game.

The final, and most subtle intangible will be the team not “winning one for the Gipper”, but continuing to win and advance for Osi. The great and popular defensive stallworth, Osi Umenyiora will be hanging them up after this season and nothing would make him or the Giants happier than to go as deep into the playoffs as possible.

Final score prediction: Giants 31-23 over the Falcons.

The N.Y. Giants should have no problem counting on the 'Big Blue' faithful to spur them on to a win over the Falcons. Photo: giantsfootballblog.com